1. Photos that make you feel famous -As soon as we arrived, we met up with Keith's cousin, who prior to marriage was indeed a Miller. She is a rock star photographer! I mean it...she and her best bud really photograph rock stars, and country music stars, and the weddings of famous people, like Jay Barker and Sara Evans. But last Wednesday, she took it upon herself to photograph our little clan. My boys are changing a little every day, so I was stoked to capture this moment in time. Stephen even managed to hang on to those two front teeth for one last photo. They are both barely hangin' on--can't wait for a "snaggle-tooth" Christmas!
2. Cousins!- Keith has these three cousins...girl cousins... at least I call them the "girl cousins." I feel like this is an important distinction to make since there are supposedly no girls in the Miller family. Ever since Keith and I got married, the joke has been that the only way to get a girl in the Miller family is to marry one or buy one on the black market. Keith has two sons, a brother who has two sons, and a father who has one brother...you get the idea. The mommies tend to be the only women around here. Yet, there is one uncle with three daughters...the "girl cousins"--a mystery indeed! When Keith and I started dating, there was an outing to the movies with these lovely ladies. And before we went, Keith made it very clear to me that this event was all about getting the all-important "thumbs up" from the cousins. He still married me, so I must have passed muster. Over the years, we always seem to find our way back to the movies together around the holidays. This Thanksgiving was no exception. 14 years, 2 weddings and 5 kiddos later, they still make me laugh so hard I can't breathe.
3. Exploding Dressing-- Thanksgiving Day, we all met over at Keith's uncle's house for Thanksgiving Dinner. Keith's aunt, we'll call her "Silver Fox," is the sweetest, most unflappable Southern lady you will ever meet. Case in point-- she accidentally turned on the wrong eye on the stove and the Pyrex dish holding the dressing exploded 20 minutes before Thanksgiving dinner. Glass was everywhere! Immediately, the family went into clean up mode because babies were also everywhere! (more on that later) Once that crisis was resolved and we had all made peace with the idea of a dressing-free Thanksgiving, the gravy got knocked off the counter onto the floor. An hour or so later, a stack of dessert plates crashed down to the same exact same spot on the floor! Needless to say, we stopped putting things on the corner of the kitchen island. Although dinner was an adventure, the "Silver Fox" was gracious and immediately forgave us for all of the collateral damage.
4. Babies!- At Thanksgiving this year, there were 3 babies under the age of 2, all adopted, all chosen by God to be members of our goofy family. When I sat in the living room watching them play, I couldn't help but be thankful for God's gracious mercies in bringing them to us. So many prayers were answered in the gift of these little ones. They are spunky, sassy, charming, phenomenal dancers, and all three of them are more "tech-savvy" with an iPhone than me!
5. Grandparents- Keith had four grandparents in attendance at our wedding. I had none. My grandparents had all passed away when I was younger, so I have always said that I lost my grandparents, but God gave me an extra set. Two of them have gone home to be with the Lord since we married, but Mamaw and Papaw are still with us. They are both in their nineties and have celebrated 71 years of marriage. What a testimony of faithfulness! This past weekend, we got one more chance to sit with them and soak up their presence. I always learn something new when I am with them. This time, I learned that even though Papaw is 97, he still looks great in a leather jacket! And Mamaw taught me that there is nothing on my "to-do list" that means as much as a few quiet hours invested in a good chat. Here's the boys with Mamaw, their great grandmother. We'd all be blessed to have half her spunk when we are older.
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